This invention relates to a damper which may be used to reduce vibrations in elongate handheld devices, tools, striking devices, sporting equipment and the like. Some specific examples are baseball bats, cricket bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, tennis rackets, squash rackets, racquetball rackets, badminton rackets, table tennis paddles, croquet mallets, polo sticks, lacrosse sticks, oars, pool cues, nightsticks, hammers, axes, picks, saws, files, rasps, punches, chisels and rachets.
The above listed devices and other similar devices are generally known and may be used for their respective intended purposes. During normal use, various vibrations may be generated which may travel throughout the item and may transfer to the user. For example, vibrations may be generated by striking another object. These vibrations may be uncomfortable and may even cause injury.
It would be desirable to damp the vibrations present in various handheld devices during and after normal use which generates vibration.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,257,220 and 6,382,201 to McPherson et al. discuss vibration dampers as applied to archery bows, and are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.